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Alabama majors and salaries
The University of Alabama · Tuscaloosa, Alabama · Public · 33,227 undergraduates
Computer and Information Sciences, General leads the pay table by a wide margin: $115,980 four years after graduation, against $105,393 for Management Information Systems and Services. Music graduates earned the least four years out, a median of $31,666; the top program pays 3.7 times as much. Finance and Financial Management Services awards the most degrees here (1,121 over two years), and it also pays above most other programs: $85,020 four years out.
Highest-paying bachelor's programs
Every program with earnings data
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Median debt | Pay after 1 yr | Pay after 4 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 201 | $19,500 | $84,817 | $115,980 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | 236 | $23,250 | $80,026 | $105,393 |
| Chemical Engineering | 224 | $20,500 | $81,197 | $100,857 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 104 | $22,027 | $84,501 | $98,943 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 455 | $21,000 | $81,064 | $95,079 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 161 | $21,750 | $79,759 | $91,999 |
| Civil Engineering | 207 | $22,625 | $74,598 | $87,685 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 489 | $21,875 | $65,290 | $87,621 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | 0 | – | $61,322 | $86,114 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 734 | $20,500 | $80,382 | $85,532 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 1,121 | $19,753 | $62,101 | $85,020 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 200 | $23,250 | $64,525 | $79,811 |
| Mathematics | 175 | $21,700 | $54,703 | $77,899 |
| Marketing | 1,084 | $21,500 | $56,341 | $77,451 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 409 | $22,485 | $55,404 | $69,715 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 614 | $23,201 | $46,569 | $68,227 |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies | 90 | $20,634 | $52,834 | $65,674 |
| Economics | 347 | $23,000 | $64,124 | – |
| Political Science and Government | 420 | $21,250 | $43,972 | $61,617 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 289 | $19,625 | $49,758 | $61,548 |
| Design and Applied Arts | 104 | $25,000 | $50,972 | $60,546 |
| Biology, General | 453 | $24,250 | $38,330 | $59,637 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 0 | – | $40,453 | $57,796 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General | 228 | $23,250 | $43,931 | $57,205 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services | 235 | $25,000 | $40,593 | $57,002 |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General | 162 | $21,500 | $52,329 | $56,945 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 155 | $19,000 | $29,217 | $56,071 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 192 | $23,250 | $36,978 | $55,894 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 74 | $26,000 | $44,620 | $55,419 |
| Journalism | 195 | $23,250 | $43,149 | $55,043 |
| Apparel and Textiles | 83 | $23,250 | $54,061 | $54,254 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 31 | $26,000 | $34,945 | $53,940 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 49 | $20,500 | – | $53,616 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 182 | $25,000 | $50,760 | $53,180 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 71 | $18,875 | $35,325 | $52,619 |
| Dance | 66 | $26,000 | $27,783 | $51,744 |
| Public Health | 306 | $23,250 | $38,855 | $51,588 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 70 | $20,750 | $44,987 | $50,763 |
| Business/Commerce, General | 556 | $21,500 | $50,440 | – |
| History | 216 | $20,064 | $39,677 | $50,213 |
| Psychology, General | 709 | $21,500 | $33,573 | $49,900 |
| Social Work | 137 | $23,250 | $35,828 | $49,561 |
| Geography and Cartography | 8 | – | – | $49,269 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 233 | $21,500 | $45,632 | $49,007 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 238 | $25,000 | $41,257 | $45,751 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 175 | $21,375 | $35,138 | $44,278 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 61 | $26,169 | $31,889 | $41,100 |
| Criminology | 554 | $20,500 | $40,079 | – |
| Anthropology | 54 | $19,125 | – | $35,701 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 47 | – | $32,350 | – |
| Music | 88 | $19,700 | $31,012 | $31,666 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 23 | – | $30,488 | – |
Programs are grouped by four-digit CIP code, so one row can cover several related majors. "Graduates" counts bachelor's degrees awarded across the two years that make up each earnings cohort.
Outcomes
- Six-year graduation rate
- 74% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
- First-year students who return
- 89%
- Students per faculty member
- 19
- Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
- $66,081 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
- Median federal debt at graduation
- $21,500 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)
Colleges similar to Alabama
The six public four-year colleges closest to Alabama in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.
| College | Acceptance rate | Avg net price | Earnings after 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State University Corvallis, OR | 77% | $21,504 | $67,894 |
| Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX | 73% | $19,890 | $67,143 |
| LSU Baton Rouge, LA | 73% | $19,286 | $64,338 |
| University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | 78% | $23,708 | $77,574 |
| University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN | 80% | $17,330 | $74,314 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX | 80% | $17,040 | $72,508 |
Program earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled, one and four years after finishing, for two pooled graduating classes. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and do not appear. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · Alabama on College Scorecard